STA vs MTA vs respite: what each is for

The short answer

Respite is the everyday word; the NDIS calls it short term accommodation (STA): a planned break of up to 14 days at a time, usually capped at 28 days a year. Medium term accommodation (MTA) is different: up to 90 days of housing while you wait for a long-term home that is not ready. Both come from your Core budget.

Families searching for respite in Adelaide usually meet three terms at once: respite, STA and MTA. Two of them describe the same support. The third is a different support with different rules, and mixing them up is one of the more common reasons a request to the NDIA stalls.

This guide explains what each one is for, what the NDIS will and will not pay for under each, how the funding appears in a plan, and what to do in South Australia when the need is urgent rather than planned. The rules below come from the NDIS participant pages, the NDIA's short term accommodation guideline dated 27 July 2026, and the 2026-27 NDIS pricing schedule effective 24 September 2026.

Short term accommodation (STA) is the NDIS word for respite

The NDIS defines short term accommodation as support that gives you time apart from the people who usually care for you, so that they can keep caring for you afterwards. In its own guideline the NDIA also calls it short term respite. When a provider advertises respite to NDIS participants, they are offering STA.

You are most likely to have STA funded if you live with your primary informal supports (family, friends or a carer) or get daily drop-in support, and those people give you more than 6 hours of disability-related support a day. The NDIA generally funds up to 28 days per year, used flexibly: a block of up to 14 days, one weekend a month, or a mix. For children, STA is funded only in exceptional situations, and the guideline says more than 60 days a year is generally not funded even then.

STA can be used in a dedicated respite house, a hotel, motel, cabin, short stay rental or hostel, or in your own home with a support worker if you usually need overnight support. You should generally use it in your own state or territory, with an exception for people in remote areas.

Pays for: the accommodation itself, personal care and everyday support (showering, cooking, toileting), and support to take part in community or social activities during the stay.
Does not pay for: food or meals, holiday packages, cruises, airfares, event tickets, or accommodation and travel for family members or support workers who come with you on a holiday.
Is not: crisis accommodation, a substitute for school, work or day programs, or a replacement for normal parenting of a child.

Medium term accommodation (MTA) is a bridge to a confirmed home

Medium term accommodation is funding to live somewhere for up to 3 months, or 90 days, while your long-term home is not ready. The NDIS lists the situations it has in mind: you are waiting on a specialist disability accommodation (SDA) vacancy, your home is being modified, you are being discharged from hospital and are eligible for SDA, SIL, individualised living options or home modifications, or you are leaving a justice setting and are eligible for SDA.

MTA is a one-off support. It is not emergency housing, and the NDIS says you must have a home you can move into; hospital discharge is the exception where a confirmed home is not yet required. It covers only the accommodation. Food, internet and electricity are your own costs, and personal care is funded separately from the rest of your plan, so a person with SIL funding keeps using that funding while in MTA.

In practice, MTA in South Australia is often a room in a SIL-style home run by a provider who also offers long-term places. That can be useful: you can trial a provider, suburb and housemates before committing. It can also be a trap if the long-term home never materialises, so ask the provider at the start what happens if your 90 days run out.

How each one is funded in your plan

Both STA and MTA sit in the Core budget under assistance with daily life (their support item numbers begin with 01). STA is usually part of a flexible amount; MTA is normally added for a specific reason and period after a request. Neither is funded automatically. You ask for it, the NDIA applies its funding criteria, and the decision depends on your circumstances and on how much support your informal supports already provide.

The 2026-27 pricing schedule changed how STA is priced. The old all-in daily rate is gone. Providers now claim an accommodation component (support item 01_250, up to $162.85 per day nationally, $227.99 remote and $244.28 very remote) plus hourly support items for the staff time, at standard or high intensity rates depending on your needs. The schedule says the accommodation amount covers standard accommodation with no extra inclusions for each overnight stay. MTA uses one daily item (01_082) with the same $162.85 national maximum, and any support during an MTA stay is claimed through the usual hourly items.

This matters when you read a quote. A respite stay with 1:1 support costs far more per day than a shared 1:3 arrangement, because the support hours are now visible and claimed separately. The NDIA funds STA at the ratio you usually have, so if you normally share support during the day, expect the plan to fund shared support in respite too. These figures are maximums for NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants; a provider may charge less, and the NDIA updates the schedule, so check the current version before you budget.

Which one fits your situation

Which support applies follows from why you need it and for how long, not from what a provider calls their rooms. If you are unsure, describe the situation to your support coordinator or my NDIS contact in plain words.

A carer needs a break, or a planned stay while family travel: STA.
A regular weekend away each month to build independence: STA, used flexibly across the year.
Home modifications will take ten weeks and the bathroom is unusable: MTA, with your existing supports continuing.
Discharge from hospital is being held up because there is nowhere suitable to go: MTA, raised with the hospital's NDIS liaison contact and your my NDIS contact together.
A SIL or SDA vacancy has been accepted but is not ready for six weeks: MTA.
A family breakdown or eviction with nowhere to go tonight: neither. This is crisis accommodation, which is a state responsibility, although the NDIA can be asked for an urgent plan change in parallel.

Emergency respite and crisis pathways in South Australia

The NDIS is slow in a crisis. A plan variation to add STA can take weeks, and MTA is explicitly not emergency housing. In South Australia the first call for a carer who cannot continue is Carer Gateway, the Australian Government carer program, on 1800 422 737 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm). The SA Department of Human Services lists it alongside the regional carer services that deliver respite and emergency help for carers: Carers SA for the western suburbs, Eyre Peninsula, the Limestone Coast, the Riverland and Murraylands and the Upper Spencer Gulf towns including Port Augusta and Whyalla; Carers and Disability Link for the Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Clare Valley and Yorke Peninsula; and separate services for the northern and southern suburbs.

If the person is in immediate danger, call triple zero. If supports are about to stop and someone could be harmed soon, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission treats that as a critical issue and takes reports on 1800 035 544. For the plan itself, call the NDIS on 1800 800 110 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm) and ask for an urgent plan variation; say clearly that there is a risk to the person's safety or housing, because that is what moves a request up the queue.

Regional distance is the other SA reality. Outside Adelaide, respite rooms are thin. A family in Whyalla or Port Augusta may be offered a place 300 to 400 kilometres away, and the NDIS generally only funds STA within South Australia unless you live in a remote area. Providers with homes in regional towns, including ResicareSA's homes in Kadina, Wallaroo, Whyalla, Port Augusta and Loxton, are worth asking about short stays specifically, because a planned regional respite booking is far easier to secure than an emergency one.

What to do next

The order below works whether you are a family member, the participant or a support coordinator.

Work out which support you are asking for: STA for a break from informal care, MTA for a gap before a confirmed home.
Check your current plan. If STA is already funded, you can book directly with a provider. If it is not, ask your my NDIS contact about using Core flexibly, or lodge a plan variation request.
Gather evidence: a short carer statement about hours of care and what is at risk, and, for MTA, written confirmation of the long-term home or the modification timeline.
Ask providers for a written quote that separates the accommodation day rate from the support hours and states the staff ratio, day and night.
For anything urgent today, call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 and the NDIS on 1800 800 110, and tell both that the situation is time-critical.

Questions people ask

Is respite the same as STA under the NDIS?

Yes. The NDIS does not have a support called respite. The support is short term accommodation (STA), and the NDIA's guideline also calls it short term respite. It funds time apart from your usual informal carers, including the accommodation, personal care and community support during the stay, for up to 14 days at a time.

How many days of respite does the NDIS fund?

The NDIA generally funds up to 28 days of short term accommodation per year, for up to 14 days at a time, and you can split it as you like, for example one weekend a month. More can be funded in exceptional situations, mainly for children at risk of not remaining in the family home, but generally not more than 60 days a year.

What is the difference between STA and MTA?

STA (short term accommodation) is a planned break from your usual carers, up to 14 days at a time. MTA (medium term accommodation) is housing for up to 90 days while a confirmed long-term home is not ready, for example during home modifications, after hospital or while waiting for an SDA vacancy. Both sit in the Core budget but are requested and justified differently.

Does MTA include food and support workers?

No. The NDIS says medium term accommodation covers only the accommodation. Food, internet and electricity are your own costs. Personal care and other supports are funded separately from the rest of your plan, so your existing SIL or daily living funding continues while you are in MTA.

Can I use MTA as emergency accommodation?

No. The NDIS states that MTA is not emergency housing and that you need a home you can move into, with hospital discharge as the exception. For a housing crisis tonight, contact state crisis accommodation services, and ask the NDIA for an urgent plan change in parallel if your disability supports are also at risk.

Does the NDIS pay for meals during respite?

No. Under the current rules, food and meals are listed among the things short term accommodation funding cannot be used for. The 2026-27 pricing schedule prices the accommodation component as standard accommodation with no extra inclusions, so providers should either exclude meals or charge for them separately and privately.

Who do I call for emergency respite in South Australia?

Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm); in SA its services are delivered through regional carer organisations such as Carers SA and Carers and Disability Link. Call triple zero if anyone is in danger, the NDIS Commission on 1800 035 544 if supports are about to stop unsafely, and the NDIS on 1800 800 110 for an urgent plan change.